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Agriculture key to addressing future water and energy needs

But holistic policy approaches, integrated planning, more attention to

smallholder farmers needed

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/94760/icode/

More efficient irrigation methods will help farmers produce more crop per drop.

17 November 2011, Rome/Bonn - As pressure on the world's water resources reachesunsustainable levels in an increasing number of regions, a "business-as-usual" approach to

economic development and natural resource management will no longer be possible, FAO saidtoday.

Agriculture will be key to the implementation of sustainable water management, the

Organization told attendees at an international meeting on water, energy and food security beingheld in Bonn.

Speaking on the sidelines at the Bonn 2011 Nexus Conference, FAO Assistant Director-General

for Natural Resources, Alexander Mueller, said: "Tackling the challenges of food security,economic development and energy security in a context of ongoing population growth will

require a renewed and re-imagined focus on agricultural development. Agriculture can andshould become the backbone of tomorrow's green economy."

The conference in Bonn has been convened by Germany's Federal Ministry of Economic

Cooperation and Development as a lead up to the UN's "Rio+20" Conference on Sustainabledevelopment in June 2012. It brings together leading actors in economic development, natural

resource management and environmental policy and the food and energy sectors to look for newapproaches to managing the interconnections between water, energy and food.

Holistic vision, sectoral solutions

FAO estimates that to feed a world population expected to number around 9 billion people in

2050, global food production will need to be increased by 70 percent. Global energy demand willincrease by 36 percent by 2035, and competition for water between farming, cities and industry

will continue to intensify as a result.

"It's time to stop treating food, water and energy as separate issues and tackle the challenge of

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